For Bella
by ibelieveinguardianangels
Summary: "Edward knew that it was just wishful thinking, just an attempt by his brother to soothe him. There was no way that Jasper – or even Alice, for that matter – could be so certain about something that they had no control over."
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **This is just me experimenting with Jasper. I was prompted to do a 'Jasper comforts Edward' story and an 'Edward comforts Jasper' story. I decided to start with Jasper.**

 **Do you think I should write the second story?**

 **I know it's only short, but that's because it's the first time I've ever written Jasper and I wanted to get a feel for the character first because there's not all that much to base him on.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes.**

For Bella

Edward could feel the unbidden sense of calm washing over him as the door to his 'bedroom' opened and Jasper slipped in, for once without Alice. The newest vegetarian was quiet as usual and, had Edward been in a better frame of mind, he would have allowed himself into Jasper's mind to listen to his thoughts and to discover just what was going through his head.

But as he perched on the edge of his sofa with his elbows resting on his knees and his trembling hands buried into his bronze hair, he just couldn't muster the energy to do so.

Jasper wordlessly crossed the room, joining his brother on his sofa, relaxing into the back of it, a contrast to Edward's tense position balancing precariously on the edge of the sofa cushion. The closer Jasper got to him, the calmer Edward became. On the one hand, he was relieved to have been ridded of the horrible crushing sensation that had been pushing heavily on his chest where his no longer beating heart lay. On the other, however, he felt that he deserved to suffer through that. A punishment for what he had done.

He felt a hand come to rest on his back, just below his left shoulder blade. It was firm – yet somehow it remained gentle. A nice change from the crushing sensation that had just lifted completely from his – now empty – chest. With the feeling no longer bearing down on him, he allowed his eyes to wander towards his brother, taking in the concerned expression on his face as his hands fell, coming to rest in the space between his legs.

He finally allowed himself to tune in to Jasper's thoughts and, with a slightly defeated sigh, he answered his unspoken question.

"I'm beginning to believe that it's impossible to keep her safe, Jasper." His usually velvet-like voice was hoarse, as though he had been shouting for a long time, and no louder than a whisper. "We bring with us far too much danger to protect her from. I worry that one day we're not going to be there to help her when she needs it the most."

"We will." Jasper stated, calm and sure. "I know for certain that you'll stop at nothing to ensure her safety, Edward. And, as much as I loathe to admit it, we have the assistance of the _dogs_ ," he spat the word as though it brought with it a bad taste, "should we need it. Nothing will get to her when we're around."

Edward shook his head at his brother's words. As a soft shaky sigh escaped his mouth, he cursed the body that felt the need to perform such unnecessary tasks.

"There's too much to protect her from, Jasper, and there aren't enough of us to do it."

"We may be few in numbers," Jasper agreed, "but we each have talents. And on top of those talents, we have one thing in common. Each of us wants to keep Bella safe and we will stop at nothing to make sure that it happens. That alone makes us stronger than anybody who may want to hurt her."

Edward's eyes, which had wandered out of his bedroom window as Jasper had been talking, returned their attention to him, meeting his golden gaze. He pondered Jasper's words, aware of the eyes watching him.

"Bella _will_ be fine, Edward." Jasper added in a much firmer tone when Edward failed to speak. "We'll make certain of it."

Edward knew that it was just wishful thinking, just an attempt by his brother to soothe him. There was no way that Jasper – or even Alice, for that matter – could be so certain about something that they had no control over. But the sentiment was there and Jasper, with his words and no doubt a bit of assistance from his talent, had succeeded in what he had come to do.

It may not be certain; not written in stone. But Edward knew one thing was definite.

The Cullens would stop at nothing to protect Isabella Swan.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thank you for reading :)**

 **I'd love to know what you think.**

 **ibelieveinguardianangels**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter. Edward comforts Jasper. It's set after the incident at Bella's party in** _ **New Moon**_ **.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes.**

It was admittedly uncomfortable being in the same room as Jasper when his emotions were all over the place like this. The way he felt affected everyone in the room, mingling with their own emotions and leaving them feeling very unsure and vulnerable as they tried to decipher which emotions belonged to them and which were Jasper's emotions piggy backing on their own.

That was the sensation that washed over Edward as he opened the door to the bedroom that Jasper shared with Alice.

Jasper appeared to be cowering in the corner of the bedroom, the furthest from the door.

Alice was standing in front of him with her small hands pressed against his chest. At first Edward had a little bit of trouble trying to determine whether or not she was restraining him or attempting to calm him down. But then he took in the expression on his face – one of a cornered animal – and his golden eyes fell on Emmett, somehow between Jasper and the wall, with a tight grip on his shoulders.

Jasper was leaning forward slightly, towering over Alice. His own hands were attempting to remove Alice's hands and he was trying to push past her.

There was a hint of panic bubbling in Edward's chest – an emotion he knew for certain wasn't coming from him. He was aware that the scent of Bella's blood would still be very potent to his brother. In fact, Edward was having a hard time ignoring it himself.

He could imagine what it must be like for Jasper, still attempting to master the art of vegetarianism.

Shooting a quick glance towards Rosalie who was hovering just out of the way of everybody, Edward crossed the room and came to a stop beside Alice. A snarl tore from Jasper's throat as he snapped his jaw at Edward. Despite his best efforts, Alice's hands remained against his chest, pushing against him as he fought. She was speaking softly to him, her lips moving so fast that they were a blur, her voice so low it appeared to be nothing more than a hum.

Despite the soothing words, however, Jasper remained angry and inconsolable.

And so Edward took charge of the situation.

"Let him go." Edward demanded. He was aware of how it must have looked to others. Jasper was struggling against them as though he wanted to get back to Bella. But Edward knew better.

Jasper was scared. He was frightened that he wasn't in control of himself and having all of those hands pushing and pulling at him, attempting to restrain him, made him feel worse. They made him panic because if the people who loved him and the people he loved felt the need to restrain him then it meant that _they_ didn't think that he was in control of himself either.

Especially with Rosalie hovering, unsure, out of harm's way.

At his words, Emmett furrowed his eyebrows. He was looking at him like he was crazy and when he opened his mouth to verbalise such, Edward snapped at him. The sound was vicious; angry.

"Let him go and leave us alone." Edward growled. Hesitantly, they did as they were asked, each releasing Jasper and moving away. Once free of his restraints, Jasper came crashing to the floor, a sound that could only be described as a sob tearing from his throat. Edward was just thankful that the house was so well build because if not, Jasper would have fallen straight through the flooring and into the room below.

Edward turned, watching to ensure that they had all definitely left the room – including Alice – before he turned back to his brother.

"Jasper," Edward spoke, keeping his voice soft as he regarded his brother curled up on the floor with his hands tucked in between his legs, clenched into fists, the action making the veins in his forearm pop out against the pale skin. "It's alright."

It was a stupid choice of words, all things considered - because there was no way that what Jasper had done could ever be seen as 'okay'.

Jasper snarled at him, but it didn't have quite the same effect when he was lying on the floor in such a vulnerable position. He came across as less of an angry vampire and more of a disgruntled house cat.

"You didn't hurt her, Jasper." Edward promised, a sudden feeling of guilt overcoming him as the image of Bella's arm, shredded and bleeding, appeared unbidden in his mind. It was an injury he had caused. Yes, he was trying to protect her – but still. He would be certain to apologise about it when he next saw her.

"I would have." Jasper's voice was melancholy, reflecting what he was feeling.

"No, you wouldn't. We wouldn't have let you." Edward promised keeping his tone just the right balance of firm and gentle.

"And if you hadn't have been there?" Jasper countered.

"Then the situation would never have arisen." Edward shrugged, hoping that if he remained 'unaffected' by what had happened his mood would have a positive effect on Jasper's. He lowered himself to join his brother on the floor. "We trust you, Jasper." Edward promised. "And you need to start trusting yourself."

If anyone had walked in at that moment, they would have been a sight, the pair of them.

Jasper was lying on the floor in the foetal position. His chest was rising and falling unevenly and Edward had a feeling that, if it were possible, he would be crying.

Edward was by his head, sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching his brother closely.

"You didn't want to hurt her, Jasper." Edward promised. "We know that. It was just instinct. You _don't_ need to be upset with yourself. You didn't do anything wrong."

Edward could hear each of Jasper's thoughts. They were racing through his mind, the next as self-deprecating as the last – if not more so.

Edward reached out a pale hand toward his brother, preparing to be snarled at. But when the snarl didn't come, he placed it atop of his brother's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze and then letting it sit there. Jasper's eyes had slid closed and, even though he knew that he wasn't able to sleep, it gave him hope that he was beginning to calm down.

Edward didn't speak again – there was no point.

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**

 **ibelieveinguardianangels**


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